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Abstract
In Morocco, the mountainous areas are often exposed to bulky and vicious flows of water and sediment. This process is exacerbated by the decrease in vegetation cover and the disruption in rainfall-runoff conditions that frequently cause significant flooding. By exploring the main hydrologic elements of these processes, it is possible to understand the behavior and hydrological response of watersheds and thus plan accordingly. In this study, the authors focused on determining the morphometric characteristics of the upper Oum Er-Rbia River basin (UOERRB by assessing/ evaluating the land use and land cover changes for a period of 32 years (1984–2016). Hydrologic Engineering Center’s Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) was applied to simulate four daily hydrological events. The concentration time was 7.7 hours. The four storm events examined to calibrate and validate the simulated outflow at the outlet indicated a good agreement between the hydrographs of the measured and simulated flows, with an average Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) value ranging from 0.63 to 0.76. Between 2002 and 2016, an average 6.21 percent increase in vegetation cover of with annual rainfall increasing from 690 to 714.1 mm/year was observed. These results can contribute to a better understanding of the hydrologic processes and better estimation of the return flows and thus guiding management decisions and developments in the UOERRB.
Highlights
For arid and semi-arid countries, there is high anthropogenic pressure on watersheds due to land mis-use, over-exploitation of forests and unsustainable agricultural practices among other causes
The Upper Oum Er-Rbia River Basin (UOERRB) is characterized by a predominance of low and medium slopes, with slope classes below 0.2 covering approximately 82% of the total watershed area
The present study focused on the use of a rainfall-runoff model to show the effect of the change of land-use on the hydrological functioning of the Upper Oum Er Rbia basin and to predict the peak flows in case of flood, especially upstream of the city Khénifra (Tahrat Station)
Summary
For arid and semi-arid countries, there is high anthropogenic pressure on watersheds due to land mis-use, over-exploitation of forests and unsustainable agricultural practices among other causes. This often results in rapid runoff, reducing infiltration and sometimes increasing soil erosion (Dregne, 2002; Ezeaku and Alaci, 2008; Pachauri et al, 2014; Yjjou et al, 2014). The Upper Oum Er-Rbia River Basin (UOERRB), experienced significant changes in land-use and land cover since 1984 to 2016. The cause-effect relationships between soil types, land cover, land use patterns and hydrological behavior has been studied by several researchers for instance (Chaponnière, 2005; Carlson et Arthur, 2000; Laborde, 2000; Kingumbi, 2006; Rey et al, 2004)
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